Bryce Harper had ‘no idea’ the Nationals had clinched a playoff spot

When we get down to the final weeks of the MLB season, we hear a lot of talk about magic numbers. The magic number is the number of games a team either needs to win or needs the teams behind them to lose in order to make the playoffs. Prior to Thursday night’s win over the Dodgers, the Nationals had a magic number of one. Apparently this is not something Bryce Harper was aware of.

“Everyone started going crazy and I looked at the fireworks and said ‘I guess we just did something,’” Harper said. “Someone handed me a playoff hat and a playoff shirt and I said ‘I guess we are going to the playoffs.’

“I had no clue. I had no idea. When the guy handed me this shirt, he just handed it to me and I was wondering what it was and it said ‘playoffs.’ I was just wondering like, ‘what happened?’ I guess we clinched a playoff berth.”

The 19-year-old then proceeded to party in the locker room by drinking sparkling cider. Since he doesn’t drink and would be upset if you asked him about it, we’ll assume that Harper lost track of the magic number for reasons other than the fact that he couldn’t partake in the alcohol-filled celebration. Bryce is a competitor who smashes bats if he doesn’t produce, so he probably lost track of the situation because he plays every game like it’s his last regardless of the stakes. That’s the fairest guess I can make.